Metaphors are often used in interface designs as a shortcut to tell a story, mimic something tangible and in general make otherwise puzzling digital products more relatable.

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Tabs, collapsed menus, accordion forms, and the ever popular hover items such as mega menu drop-downs – progressive disclosure is a great way to cut down visual clutter while still offering the user lots of content and features.

However, there’s an inherent danger to these hidden elements: the user may fail to notice that the hidden content exists!… Continue reading →

Validation error pages are dreadful. You just filled out 20 form fields yet you still get the same bloated page thrown back in your face because a single field failed the validation.

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So you have a website designed for standard desktop computers, but you obviously want to keep up with times and make your site mobile-friendly too. However, it isn’t just a matter of scaling down your design – it’s a new platform with a new set of interaction patterns and limitations.

In this article we’ll explore seven UI limitations to be aware of when going from desktop to mobile web… Continue reading →

Images sell. But besides the traditional white-background product image shot from three different angles, which product image categories can you include in your product gallery?

A dress on a hanger will look vastly different from one on a mannequin, that again will look vastly different on a real human model, that again will look vastly different when worn in the street as opposed to a studio. The level of information range from descriptive to telling a vibrant story about owning the product… Continue reading →

During our usability study of the e-commerce checkout experience we found that users have a hard time figuring out what actually happened when changes – such as an updated shipping cost – don’t appear instantly and in close proximity to the input applying those changes.

The tested subjects consistently expected changes to be ‘live’ when applying shipping options, shipping zip codes and gift options… Continue reading →

I first encountered the Kano model when working on improving the customer’s check-in experience at Copenhagen Airport. The model was conceived by Noriaki Kano in the 80s, and helps you analyze the customer experience of your product (or service), which ultimately allows you to invest more wisely in customer experience improvements.

The Kano model assumes three different attribute types – basic, performance, and delight – that collectively constitute the customer experience of your product… Continue reading →

User interface details matter to the overall user experience.

Many users may not consciously notice these details on your site yet they do have an impact on the overall user experience. When everything feels just right the perception of your site and brand is improved.

In this article we’ll look at 5 different types of UI details you should pay attention to… Continue reading →

Writing headlines for online editorial content can be a daunting task with conflicting advise.

On the usability side people like Jakob Nielsen argue that you must front load information scent in your headlines. The goal is to convey as much useful information on what the article will be about so the user can make an informed decision on whether that is the right page or not… Continue reading →

Here at Baymard we write three different categories of UX articles: 1) Research & Guidelines, 2) Case studies, and 3) Observations.

We know a lot of you started subscribing to our articles during the year (thank you!), so below is a list with some of our favorite articles from each of these three categories in case you missed them (or just want to revisit old favorites):… Continue reading →